Posted on 04/14/2016 7:45:51 AM PDT by simpson96
I like to think that the uplifting tone of the lyrics was meant to be ironic, and that Dietrich sang this after the war’s end as a thumb in the eye to the German people, because she hated Hitler and everything he stood for since the early 1930’s. The Ruins Of Berlin
*ping*
“A Foreign Affair” is one of Billy Wilder’s greatest comedies.
Seen it and enjoyed it. Lots to laugh at and very irreverent for it’s time, for anyone familiar with WWII history.
German sounds so harsh when Dietrich sings it. It reminds me of what Fredrick the Great once said, he spoke Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to his horse
We’ve been watching “Foreign Affair” on TCM which was released in 1948. Very interesting bit of living history, and yes Marlene Dietrich sings “Ruins of Berlin” in one of the many taverns during the time. The ideological US Congresswoman portrayed by Jean Arthur is a perfect example of our establishment today, who is obsessed with managing the occupying US forces by the book, until she awakes to the reality of “peace” after the war. Very pertinent to our own times.
Some comic once remarked that the Germans invented their language so they could spit at foreigners under the guise of polite conversation.
A film to watch about the demise of the Third Reich is what transpired in Berlin after the Russians took control...
A Woman in Berlin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEZxcSf9HwM
My mother survived the Allies attack on Berlin. She was just 16 years old. Damn Hitler for not surrendering 1944. My father was Dutch, part of the Dutch Underground and witness to Operation Market Garden.
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